Batool Khalid
* Iceland, Panama set to make their World Cup bow
* Egypt, Morocco & Peru returning after absences of at least two decades
* Qualifying campaigns, star men and World Cup thoughts in focus
After a qualifying campaign that encompassed a record 871 matches and 208 teams, the 32 finalists will learn their FIFA World Cup™ group rivals on Friday.
While that Final Draw will feature plenty of familiar names, added excitement and freshness is guaranteed by the presence of two debutants and several sides returning after lengthy absences. With this in mind, FIFA.com took a closer look at the five teams either making their first World Cup appearance, or their first in a generation.
EGYPT
The Pharaohs are back at the World Cup for the first time since 1990. They qualified with a game to spare, but in dramatic circumstances all the same, with Mohamed Salah sealing their place with a 94th-minute penalty winner against Congo.
The star
Having netted a staggering 71 per cent of Egypt’s goals during Russia 2018 qualifying, and scored in every one of their third-round victories, the speedy, skilful Mohamed Salah is firmly established as Egypt’s key man.
The stat
Essam El Hadary will turn 45 in January and could become the oldest player to participate at a World Cup. The Egypt goalkeeper is one of only seven players to have appeared in six different preliminary competitions.
The quote
“We will not go to the World Cup just for the sake of being there – we want to qualify and play good football. We believe in ourselves and in what we can do.”
Hector Cuper, Egypt coach
ICELAND
The Nordic nation is comfortably the smallest ever represented at the World Cup, with its population of 335,000 dwarfed by the 1.3 million of the previous record-holder, Trinidad and Tobago. The debutants qualified in style too, topping a formidable section that included Croatia, Turkey and Ukraine.
The star
Iceland’s player of the year for the last five years running, Gylfi Sigurdsson – a midfielder who can create and score spectacular goals – was the team’s top marksman in Russia 2018 qualifying.
The stat
Iceland were one of three teams to qualify without using a single domestic-based player. The others were Sweden and group rivals Croatia.
The quote
“We’ll have to see what sort of group we get but I think we’ll have a good chance of making it through. We haven’t got anything to lose and we’ll go into the World Cup with the same mentality we had at the EURO. We’ll be looking forward to going to Russia and obviously seeing the hand clap at a World Cup!”
Gylfi Sigurdsson, Iceland midfielder
